


where the sun shines

by boldlygoingnowherefast



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Holodecks/Holosuites, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 23:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21126722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boldlygoingnowherefast/pseuds/boldlygoingnowherefast
Summary: When Jadzia borrows Worf's Ancient West holoprogram, she decides to bring Kira, who fears she might be in over her head.





	where the sun shines

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write KiraDax for so long! This is short and sweet and definitely not the only thing I'm planning on writing for them, but I'm glad to finally have gotten something published.

The promenade was quiet at this hour, the overhead lights reduced to the calming glow of the night shift and the only noise overflowing from the small crowd still enjoying themselves in Quark’s. Kira leaned against a pylon and surveyed the scene, nerves crawling in her stomach as she waited for Jadzia to show.

Anxiety was a complicated beast for Kira. She was too used to firefights and raids for them to get to her in the same way they used to. It wasn’t raids or firefights that were making her nervous tonight. 

Jadzia came into view, five minutes later than they had agreed on, and a warm, mischievous smile spread on her face as she spotted Kira. Kira’s mouth dried when she took in Jadzia’s outfit. Sturdy pants tucked into dark brown boots, a leather holster hooked to a large belt buckle, a button-up shirt and a curved hat perched on her head at a jaunty angle.

“Hey!” Jadzia greeted. “You look great. Are you ready?”

Kira tugged nervously at the bandana tied around her neck. “Sure. Remind me again why we’re doing this?”

Jadzia grabbed her arm and pulled her towards Quark’s, body practically thrumming with excitement. “It was an old holoprogram of Worf’s. I overheard him telling O’Brien about it and it sounded so fun I just had to borrow it.”

“Ancient Earth? Why ancient Earth?”

“Because it’s exciting and the clothing is fun.”

When Kira had commissioned the outfit from Garak, he had given her a dark look and mumbled something about denim as he turned away. “I don’t know if fun is the word I’d use.”

Jadzia just shook her head as they entered Quark’s and made their way directly to the holosuites. Jadzia plugged the program into the control panel and pressed a few buttons on the screen. The doors hissed open and Kira squinted in the suddenly bright light.

“Welcome, Nerys, to the Ancient West.”

They stepped through and Kira immediately felt the dust and heat settle on her shoulders. The sun was harsh and made her wish for shaded lenses. She understood now the need for the weird hats, and she angled hers so it shielded her eyes from the glare.

The holodeck arch faded into the dust behind them, leaving them standing in a quiet main street of a battered town. The buildings were made of weathered wood, and the signs were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. Kira’s gaze caught on a man riding a horse towards the saloon, his hat tipped low over his eyes and his shoulders hunched. Another man stood on the balcony of the hotel, his gaze narrowed, leaning heavily on the bannister. There was an equally unhappy woman standing next to him, holding what appeared to be a rolled piece of paper between two fingers.

“Lively place,” Kira said.

Dirt crunched under their boots as Jadzia led them towards the building labeled _Sheriff_.

“You didn’t like the holoprogram of the ancient Trill Festival of Rebirth.”

That had been loud and chaotic, and the holograms had been handsy. “This is a step up from that, certainly,” she replied, and Jadzia just sighed.

The Sheriff’s building was dark inside, and what little light that slanted in through the small windows was clouded and dim from the dirty glass and the thick air. Kira barely resisted coughing.

“Can I help you?” came a thick drawl.

Kira’s gaze shifted to the man sitting behind the desk. He was just as weathered as the rest of the town, and his clothing was dull enough that the metal star fixed to his vest shone in comparison.

“We’re here to pick up a bounty,” Jadzia replied.

The Sheriff threw a lazy thumb at the bulletin board on the other side of the office where a single poster was tacked. “Theodore Scott. Nasty piece of work. Wanted for robbery, murder, and dodging his last sentence.”

Kira moved over to the board and eyed the drawing of Scott. “Nice mustache.”

Jadzia came up next to her, placing a hand on Kira’s shoulder as she leaned in to examine the poster. “Has anyone around here seen him recently?” she asked the Sheriff.

“He likes to hang around the saloon. I would watch yourself, though. The man has a nasty temper and a quick hand if you catch my meaning. That’s why he’s got such a high price on his head. We want him alive, mind you. Need to question him.”

“Thank you, Sheriff,” Jadzia replied. “We’ll be out of your hair now.”

They stepped back into the punishing sun and Kira shot Jadzia a glance. “So we’re just going to go catch some weirdo?”

“I thought you’d find this more interesting than a spa program. A way to blow off some steam in a stress-free environment.” Jadzia’s grin slanted into something sharper. “And we’re not just catching some _weirdo. _We’re bounty hunting.”

Kira wondered how accurate this program was to the actual Ancient West of Earth. It seemed like a harsh, lawless place, for all that the Federation boasted their peaceful ways. Kira believed in progress, of course she did, but she also believed that you couldn’t run from your past. Bloodstains didn’t wash out so easily.

Kira shrugged. “Lead the way.”

Jadzia smiled and turned to head across the main street to the saloon on the corner. “Apparently, the first time Worf used this program, there was a ship malfunction and the safeties turned off and trapped him and his son inside.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.”

“And to make it even more outrageous, all of the hologram characters transformed into Lieutenant Commander Data.”

Kira frowned, but they had reached the saloon doors and she didn’t feel like now was the time to dive into whatever wild story was likely behind that statement. She could hear a piano galloping through a tune from within, and there was the sound of voices raised in laughter. Nerves buzzed along her spine.

“Ready?” Jadzia asked with a grin.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Jadzia pushed through the swinging doors and they stepped into the saloon. It was even smokier than the sheriff’s office had been, obscuring the figures within and turning them into dark, undefined smudges. The piano was nearly overbearing once inside, the laughter sharp and grating.

Kira felt her nerves settle into the familiar calm that came with completing a mission, even if this one happened to be in an entirely unfamiliar setting. She approached the bar, shoulders easing into something confident but composed. Jadzia followed close behind her, and she could nearly feel Jadzia’s excitement at Kira taking this seriously.

Kira felt a small wash of shame at that, thinking about the conversation they had in that first holoprogram. Kira had been blunt and rude, and Jadzia had only been trying to show her a good time. Sometimes, Kira was all too aware of the sandpaper edges of her personality and how they often caught on others and dragged. She worried that she would scuff up everyone around her, especially Jadzia, easy and bright and so eager to show Kira a good time.

“What’ll it be, ladies?” the bartender asked, swiping a dirty rag over an equally dirty glass. He was a short, round man with a nervous air about him.

“Two whiskeys,” Jadzia replied easily, leaning an elbow on the bar like she had been there dozens of times before. She tilted her hat back with a clever flick of her finger and winked at Kira, who couldn’t resist a good-natured eye roll.

The bartender plunked the glasses down in front of them. “In town long?”

“Passing through,” Jadzia replied. She picked up her glass and threw back the liquid inside. Kira watched the bared line of her throat, usually hidden by the tall collar of her uniform and quickly turned to her own drink. Jadzia leaned closer to the bartender. “Have you by chance seen a man with a curved mustache? Tall. Goes by the name of Theodore Scott.”

The bartender’s eyes widened, and he jerked his chin to the rowdy group of people in the very back of the saloon, crowded around one of the round tables. “They cause all sorts of trouble around here,” the bartender hissed, leaning closer to the two of them. “If you manage to get rid of Scott, the next round of whiskeys is on the house.”

Kira didn’t like the look of any of the men at the table. There were four of them, and she could see the shine of guns at their hips. There was a languid manner about them that Kira associated with men in positions of power they thought uncontested—they took up more space than they needed and they treated this place like they owned it.

“Don’t you worry,” Jadzia told the bartender. “He’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

Kira shot Jadzia a look. “There’s four of them, all armed. How do you propose we get Scott alone?”

Kira could see Scott now, with his twisted mustache, his dark hair slicked back. He was facing them, but his attention was on the man to his left, who was telling a story about what sounded like a robbery, from where Kira was standing.

“Check your holster,” Jadzia said, and Kira realized there was a weight on her hip that hadn’t been there before. A revolver sat in the leather of her holster, and Kira ran a tentative finger over the menacing cool metal. She reminded herself it was a hologram and not actually deadly.

“Theodore Scott!” Jadzia called, and the bar quieted almost immediately. Even the piano galloped to a clunky halt, leaving nothing but an echoing silence in its wake.

Kira bristled. This was not the tactic she would have chosen.

Scott leaned forward in his chair, the wood creaking ominously beneath him. “Who’s asking?” his voice was thin and reedy, but there was an edge to it that Kira didn’t like.

Jadzia took a few steps forward, and though Kira lingered a step behind her, she kept close. “For a man with such a high bounty on his head, you sure are quick to answer to your name,” Jadzia said.

A slick grin grew on Scott’s face. “Would you like to try your hand at bringing me in?” he spread his arms wide and leaned back in his chair, and his goons widened their stances menacingly. “I haven’t had a good fight in days.”

Normally, Jadzia wasn’t the one plunging them into a fight. She was clever and used her wits and their assets to get everyone out of scrapes alive. Kira was the one who ended up with bloody knuckles and a crackling temper. But this was a holoprogram.

Jadzia shot Kira a questioning glance, and Kira gave her a small nod. Jadzia drew her gun in a quick motion, and the sound of guns cocking filled the smoky saloon air as Scott’s goons and Kira did the same.

“This doesn’t have to be a fight, Scott,” Jadzia said, and Kira admired the way she looked, gun pointed straight at Scott, face hardened into something demanding and confident. The hat sitting low on her eyes only made her look that much more intense. “You come with me and my friend and there doesn’t have to be any trouble.”

Scott let out a lazy laugh. He hadn’t moved from his eased sprawl in his chair and he was regarding them with an amused expression. “But you’ve bothered me, you see. I was enjoying a nice drink with my friends, and you saw fit to disturb that. I’m afraid you two are going to need to learn your lesson.”

It was all the warning they got before he grabbed the table and yanked it upwards, shielding him and his men. Gunshots rang out, and Kira dove sideways on instinct. Kira had been in firefights before, of course, but there was something about shifting her gaze to Jadzia, crouched behind a stool and firing back at their assailants, a grin on her face, that made Kira realize with shocking clarity that this was _fun. _There was yelling and smoke, and the sound of gunfire was near deafening in the small space of the saloon, and the other patrons were either ducking for cover or adding their lot into the fight, and it was exhilarating in a way that Kira wasn’t familiar with.

“He’s making a break for it!” Jadzia yelled, and they both watched as Scott bolted for the door. Kira didn’t have a good angle on him, and neither did Jadzia, and so they had no choice but to wait for a break in the gunfire and take off after him.

“There!” Kira shouted once they were out on the street. Scott was climbing into the saddle of a speckled horse, and before either of them could do so much as yell, he was digging his heels in and tearing away.

“Quick, follow me,” Jadzia said, and they sprinted down the front steps of the saloon and toward where a handful of horses were tied. Jadzia untethered two of them.

“Come on!” she cried, climbing into the saddle of the closer one.

Kira hesitated. “I’ve never been on a horse before.”

“It’ll be fine!”

Kira copied what she had seen Jadzia do, tucking her foot into the stirrup and hauling her leg over the back of the horse. She sat, a little unsteadily, and threw Jadzia a questioning look.

“Steer gently with the reins, and dig your heels in to go faster!” Jadzia said, and then she clicked her teeth, leaned forward, and her horse shot down the road after their escaped criminal.

Kira gave a noise of alarm and tried to do what Jadzia instructed. Luckily, the horse seemed to want to follow after its friend and only took a little coaxing to settle into a steady gallop.

Kira was certain she was going to fall off and tumble to the dusty ground, but by some miracle, she found her balance and was able to lean up out of the saddle like Jadzia was, and she caught up to her and matched her exhilarated smile. The town opened up into a rolling, dusty vista, and then it was just the three of them tearing over untamed desert in a frantic game of cat and mouse.

They were closing in on Scott, whose horse had shorter legs and was struggling to outpace them.

“Stay back a bit and wait,” Jadzia said with a wink, and then she darted forward and settled alongside Scott, who let out a curse when he noticed her. “Hey there, partner,” she said, and then kicked out with her foot, hitting him hard in his side and sending him tumbling from his saddle with a shocked cry.

Kira’s horse had to wheel around to avoid trampling him, and then both Kira and Jadzia were easing their horses to a stop. Kira hopped off her horse and approached the figure sprawled in the dirt.

“Is he alive?”

Jadzia came up beside her and eyed the unmoving form.

Scott let out a groan and shifted. “You two are fucking maniacs,” he huffed.

Jadzia handed Kira a length of rope. “We should tie his wrists so he doesn’t make a break for it. Care to do the honors?”

Kira took the rope and approached the dusty gunslinger. He put up little fight as Kira turned him over and tied his wrists behind his back. When she stood, Jadzia had moved closer.

“So, what do you think?” Jadzia asked, a bit breathless.

Kira’s heart was still racing from their breakneck chase, and she wondered if Jadzia’s was too. Kira turned to face her and smiled. “This holoprogram gets my vote,” she replied. “Next time maybe we can make the bad guy look like Julian. I’ll catch him twice as fast.”

Jadzia laughed and Kira watched the bright flash of her teeth. She should back away and deal with Scott or end the holoprogram—anything but stand here and watch Jadzia’s mouth pulled up in mirth. Kira had always done a good job of keeping her distance from Jadzia, for both their sakes, but stepping away from her right now felt impossible. All of her reasons for putting that space between them were escaping her in a dizzying rush.

“Nerys.”

Kira’s eyes flicked up to Jadzia’s face to see that a soft warmth had replaced her mirth. “Thank you for sharing this program with me,” Kira said, her voice nothing more than a murmur in the open air. “Thank you for showing me I can have fun, as difficult as it was.”

“You deserve it,” Jadzia replied, and Kira felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist and squeeze. “You deserve happiness and fun just as much as anyone else.”

They were standing close enough that Kira had to tilt her head back to meet Jadzia’s dark gaze under the brim of her cowboy hat. Jadzia smiled and tilted Kira’s hat backwards with her finger.

Kira wasn’t certain who leaned in first, but with Jadzia’s lips soft against hers, it didn’t matter who initiated it. Jadzia’s hand was a steady weight on her back, pulling her closer as the kiss deepened, and Kira couldn’t help the small noise she made at _finally _knowing the shape of Jadzia’s mouth against her own. The desert heat faded and time stretched syrupy sweet between them.

“Are you two going to bring me in, or not?”

Kira pulled back with a startled jerk, and Jadzia’s expression went from dazed to amused as her gaze drifted to the man who was still lying in the dirt by their feet. “Oops.”

Kira prodded his side with the toe of her boot. “Rude.”

Jadzia leaned forward and planted a short, chaste kiss on the corner of Kira’s mouth. “Let’s go collect our bounty money.”

As they dragged an unhappy gunslinger back to the sheriff’s office and the holoprogram came to an end, Kira felt a warmth growing in her chest and a smile on her mouth. Jadzia could see her smile and answered it with one of her own, and by the time they were stepping out of the holosuite together, they were both laughing, bright and happy.

_I could get used to this, _Kira thought.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [tumblr](https://sareks.tumblr.com)


End file.
